![]()
Over the years, we�ve posted a number of tutorials on how to develop film using coffee and vitamin C, which combine to create a photo process known as caffenol. The solution can be used to develop prints as well, and that�s what photographer Gijs van den Berg did for a recent project that documents coffeehouses in Amsterdam.
After photographing each shop, Gijs printed the photos in his darkroom using caffenol created from that shop�s coffee.
�In the past months I have been photographing the last standing traditional coffeehouses of Amsterdam,� Gijs tells PetaPixel. �Because of the changing coffee culture they are slowly fading away.�
His project is titled Gewoon Koffie, which is Dutch for �Just Coffee.� So far he has visited 11 different coffee houses, pointing his lens at the decor, the owners, and the patrons.
Using caffenol gives the prints a natural yellow and brown tint, and the different coffees produce an ever-so-slightly different look for each of the prints.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Gijs is currently holding an exhibition of Gewoon Koffie in the Werkplaats at the Volkshotel in Amsterdam. The free show will run through August 28th, 2015.
Image credits: Photographs by Gijs van den Berg and used with permission

Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.